


On a Wednesday

by CelesteFitzgerald



Series: Orville, I have a story [3]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 09:58:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15410439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelesteFitzgerald/pseuds/CelesteFitzgerald
Summary: Mr. Hippo and Orville are enjoying their afternoon in the park, watching the leaves fall, until they spot a man nearby who doesn't seem to be having a very good day.





	On a Wednesday

It was another peaceful fall day in the park. The leaves had just begun to fall a few days ago, and the bright colors complemented the sky and the grass wonderfully. Mr. Hippo made sure to mention this to Orville as well. Although, now that he thought about it, as beautiful as the leaves were, it must be an awful pain for the park staff to rake them all up, only to have to rake them all again a few days later when more had fallen.

Still, to Mr. Hippo, who was fortunate enough not to have to clean up the leaves, the leaves looked beautiful—and Orville agreed. Mr. Hippo couldn’t help but smile as he observed the scenery—well, that is, until he noticed a man on a bench not too far from their own.

“Orville, that man looks unhappy.”

“Yes, I suppose he does.”

“I wonder if he’s alright.”

Orville paused for a moment to look at the man once more. “He does look a bit ill. Maybe he came here for some fresh air?”

“Hmm.” Mr. Hippo didn’t want to leave the man on his own if he _was_ ill. So he stood up. “Orville, I think we should go talk to him—you know, to make sure he’s okay.”

Mr. Hippo helped Orville up, and the two of them headed over to the other bench. As they approached, Mr. Hippo was sure that they had made the correct decision; the man was most certainly ill. He was covered in many, many scratches that appeared to be having difficulty healing, and the complexion of his skin seemed…off, somehow. Indeed, they needed to make sure he was okay.

“Excuse me, sir,” Mr. Hippo began, “would you mind if we joined you for a moment?”

The man looked up at them, a distant look in his eyes. He nodded, then moved over slightly so that Mr. Hippo could take a seat to his right, and Orville on the other side of Mr. Hippo.

“The leaves are beautiful, aren’t they?” Mr. Hippo said.

“Yes,” the man responded, if it could even be considered a response; his voice sounded as vacant as his appearance. Mr. Hippo was starting to become seriously concerned.

…Then he remembered that he had never actually introduced himself. The man must have thought him and Orville rude for showing up uninvited and starting a conversation without so much as an introduction. Apologizing profusely, Mr. Hippo introduced himself and Orville.

The man nodded again. “I’m Michael.”

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Michael,” Mr. Hippo said, and Orville echoed his sentiments. “What brings you to the park on this fine day, Michael?”

Michael sighed. With what appeared to be great effort, he spoke again: “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing here.”

“Heh,” Mr. Hippo laughed, “I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Michael. You sound a lot like me.”

Michael gave him a pained smile, then coughed lightly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, is everything alright, Michael?” Orville asked.

After a few moments of silence, Michael said, “I’m not sure.”

“Well, there certainly is a lot that you’re not sure about,” Mr. Hippo said. “But sometimes, not being sure can be better than being sure. There’s something wonderful about an endless sea of possibilities, like – like when you go to a new restaurant and look at the menu, and there are just…so many options that, you know, you’re not sure which one to pick…”

He trailed off when Orville nudged him. “Oh, but – but I suppose that really doesn’t apply to this situation,” Mr. Hippo quickly finished. He hoped Michael wasn’t too upset with his accidental insensitivity.

Interestingly, Michael seemed to be more alert than he was before. He had finally managed to make direct eye contact and looked intrigued.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Orville asked.

Michael didn’t answer. But he didn’t seem uncomfortable by their presence, so the three of them continued to sit in silence. Eventually, Michael shifted positions, wincing slightly as he moved. He clutched his torso for a second—then quickly returned his arm to his side as though he didn’t want Mr. Hippo and Orville to notice.

Unfortunately for him, Mr. Hippo had indeed noticed. “Are you in pain, friend?”

His eyes widening, Michael shook his head.

If he wasn’t in pain, then what could be bothering him? Mr. Hippo thought for a moment before the answer hit him. “Are you hungry?” It would explain why he had clutched his stomach. “You know, there’s a nice bakery nearby—Orville and I go there all the time. If you’re hungry, we could buy you something. And while we’re there, we may as well get you some rye bread, Orville. Although…today is Wednesday, and they make rye bread on Tuesdays…. But the bread wouldn’t be too old after only one day….”

“You really don’t have to do that,” Michael said.

“We insist,” assured Mr. Hippo, and Orville nodded in agreement. Mr. Hippo stood, offering a hand to each of his companions.

Sighing, Michael relented and took Mr. Hippo’s hand to steady himself as he stood up.

They began making their way to the bakery, a bit slower than their usual pace. Mr. Hippo kept talking as they walked, hoping to distract Michael from the things that were bothering him—considering how distressed he looked, Mr. Hippo was sure that it was more than just hunger—but he didn’t press Michael for any more details.

A few minutes later and they were pulling open the bakery doors and taking in the sweet scents. Mr. Hippo led the way to the counter before turning to Michael.

“What would you like? There are, just, all kinds of options. Of course, there’s rye bread, or sourdough—no, but you don’t want the sourdough, it’s Wednesday. And besides, that man may have already bought all of it…”

As Mr. Hippo continued describing the options, Michael looked around the shop—then he laughed. Mr. Hippo stopped talking; it was the first time he had seen Michael smile—a real smile, not one shrouded in pain.

“I’m not sure what I want,” Michael said yet again.

“Take your time, we’re not in a hurry,” Orville said.

While Michael kept looking, Orville pulled Mr. Hippo to the side. “Are you sure he’s going to be alright?” Orville whispered.

“You know, I – I believe he will be. He’s already in much better condition than he was before,” Mr. Hippo said. Orville only seemed partly convinced, but that would have to be enough for now. Their company really did seem to be helping Michael, at least a little.

Eventually, Michael decided on a pastry, which Mr. Hippo paid for along with the rye bread. “I really don’t mind paying,” Michael tried to say, but Mr. Hippo refused. He was the one who insisted on Michael eating in the first place; it just wouldn’t be fair if he forced Michael to pay for the food that _he_ had suggested they buy.

“…Thank you,” Michael said.

“You are very welcome,” Mr. Hippo said, wrapping an arm around Michael’s shoulder. “Now, young man, we’ve taken up quite a bit of your time…we’ll – we’ll leave you be, if you’d rather be alone…but, I’m pleased to see that your mood has improved.”

“I appreciate it,” Michael said with another smile. “I…well, I didn’t really have plans for the rest of the day.”

Orville and Mr. Hippo shared a look. “We could always sit by the river and watch the ducks,” Orville suggested.

“Ah—that’s a wonderful idea, Orville,” Mr. Hippo chimed in. “Michael, you’re – you’re more than welcome to join us.”

Michael nodded without hesitation, and Mr. Hippo smiled. It had only been a short time, but Michael’s company had already become a familiar presence, and Mr. Hippo was glad he didn’t have to say goodbye just yet.

They began their journey to the river, Orville on Michael’s left and Mr. Hippo on his right. The leaves continued to fall around them, coloring the sidewalk as they left the bakery far behind.

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing about Michael Afton, whoop whoop! 
> 
> I recently found a wonderful [discord server](https://discord.gg/RJ7qTpP) devoted to all of the Mediocre Melodies, so you should definitely consider joining! :) (btw, thanks to one of the members of the server for suggesting I write about Mr. Hippo and Orville having a conversation with Michael.)


End file.
